The idea of having a serial killer out to get you is one thing, knowing that said serial killer has an alien up his ass is another. Not to mention having put said serial killer with an alien up his ass on death row, who has now escaped custody, most likely due to the fact he has an alien up his ass.
"I'm so fucked." Eddie mumbled into his hands; having just got off the phone with Detective Mulligan.
Eyes closed behind his fingers, elbows firmly on the desk, Eddie sat miserably with his unhelpful thoughts. The peaceful silence, the finally satisfied hunger and sought-after normality that had started to return to his life meant nothing with imminent death barrelling towards him. He was finally, truly alone for the first time in over a year.
Now he would give anything to not be alone.
Sinking back in his chair Eddie ran his hands down his face. His work was laid out before him, laptop's fan humming quietly in the night. His eyes ran over the papers stacked in piles, collecting up the sketches Venom had made previously.
"Think. Think…" Eddie commanded himself, eyes scanning the drawings, taking in every little detail. "What would Venom do?" He sat forward, face scrunching as he attempted to get into the mindset of the alien symbiote. "He would find you before you find me, and he would eat your face!" Eddie shook his head, feeling foolish. "Stupid." He grumbled clarification.
A police siren wailed somewhere in the distance making Eddie catch his breath for a second, heart beating faster in that moment.
"Get a grip." He ordered, slapping himself gently, trying to focus he leaned forward.
Eddie took hold of the small handheld recorder, pressing play he was graced with the voice of Cletus Kasady.
The words played over as he remembered, still no clearer than the first time he had heard them. Deranged words of a mad man were all he could discern, the babble of someone very broken. Eddie picked up the postcard he had been sent, the invitation to the killer's execution, he read the scribbles as the voice continued to play, mulling over everything he could think to be relevant; no detail being looked over.
"None of this makes sense…" Eddie suddenly noticed something, something that kept repeating. "One bright light… With one bright light?" He flipped through the drawings, all referring to something or someone as the one bright light. His eyes fell on the final drawing, copied from the alien's memory that was once apart of him.
A tree with bare branches stood alone, a rather ominous building in the background.
" ." Sitting back once more, Eddie stared forward, the gentle warm light of his lamp illuminating the area as his brain processed the realisation.
Eddie inhaled deeply through his nose having concluded his next best course of action.
"Shit." He cursed to himself.
Eddie launched up from his chair, snatching his phone from the desk, pulling his carelessly slung coat from the couch. Time was something he wished he could spare, but any moment now a killer could come walking through his door. He tugged on his jacket, plunging his phone into a pocket as he made for his keys by the door.
A sensation overwhelmed Eddie.
He was lightheaded. Sweat building quickly. Eddie dropped to one knee, fearful of falling face first.
"What the…?" He breathed intensely; eyes scrunched closed.
He felt sick, ill.
Eddie sat himself back, pulling his back up against the side of the couch. Shakey hands grabbed at his phone from his pocket. He tried to tap to dial a number but missed, opening a social media app instead.
The first thing he saw was Venom looking back at him, smiling for the camera.
"You've got to be joking." Eddie kept the phone in his unsteady hand, propping up a knee to keep it still. In the photo Venom was posing with someone, bright coloured lights in the background.
He scrolled down the page, other photos of Venom popping up at some sort of party. Most of the posts mentioned how incredible this guy's 'costume' is, paired with a selfie of Venom. "This isn't happening…" Eddie kept scrolling, people sharing pictures of Venom. Making his way through the posts Eddie spotted something of use. The name of the venue.
Printed on a banner in the background was 'Masquerade.'
"Gotcha." He cheered to himself triumphant.
It took everything Eddie had to get himself up right, groaning he used the couch to crawl his way back to his feet, finding himself short of breath immediately.
"This day just keeps getting better." He remarked before grabbing his keys from the side and leaving his apartment on unsteady feet.
Eddie shoved open the taxi door, grunting with the effort needed to pull himself from the vehicle.
"Thanks." He huffed back to the driver before closing the door behind him. The yellow taxi left immediately leaving Eddie at the entrance to the Masquerade. Everyone else was dressed in costumes, many wearing masks. It had been easy to get a location, just googling 'Masquerade party San Francisco' gave him an address immediately. Now he just had to find Venom.
With no immediate sign of the enormous alien, Eddie started his search by following the music and the steady flow of people. Stumbling along he asked those whose attention he could grab if they had seen someone in a costume of Venom's description.
"Lots of teeth." Eddie motioned at his own mouth. His sweaty, most likely pale appearance not doing him any favours. The couple he was talking to looked to each other confused before shaking their heads. This was a recurring response with most people he asked.
"How hard can it be to find a seven-foot-tall alien?" He asked himself in disbelief, having of course seen this process going a lot quicker in his head.
The pounding of the music started to get to Eddie, head throbbing along to the beat, the floor itself was vibrating from the booming speakers. As soon as a chance presented itself Eddie broke free of the dancefloor finding a spot away from the chaos. He leaned heavily against a brick wall, forehead pressing against the cold stone.
Coughing suddenly and harshly, his hand covered his mouth.
Pulling his palm before his eyes revealed specs of blood resting on his skin.
Before Eddie had time to process the fact that he had just coughed up bright red blood, a scream sounded from around the corner in front of him. Two women scarpered from around the bend, fleeing in fear, almost tripping over their own feet in the process. They charged past Eddie, not even noticing him.
Following the wall for balance, Eddie proceeded towards where the two women had fled from having a funny feeling, he knew what he would find. Turning the corner, he saw the familiar black goop of Venom slapping about on the concrete, slowly and weakly moving towards him.
"Rough night?" Eddie joked, still needing the wall for balance. Venom noticed him, the black tendrils growing still for a second before proceeding forward at a snail's pace.
"Well-well. Look who's puny now." Eddie mocked, the alien symbiote tendrils sloppily moving towards him. "Not so tough any…" Eddie coughed mid-sentence, like the words got caught in his throat. In his attempt to breathe he lost his hold on the wall falling on his side heaving, air seeming to never quite fill his lungs no matter how hard he tried.
Eddie's vision focused as he came out of his current coughing fit, the world having unknowingly been lost in a blur. He could feel blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face still warm and sweaty.
Unspeaking, unmoving, the pile of goop sat watching only a foot away from his face.
"Yeah, very funny." Eddie managed to say between coughs. "Hilarious actually." He spat out between desperate breaths.
He rolled onto his back in any attempt to breathe better, loosing eye contact with the stubborn alien. Eddie just laid there, staring up at the curved ceiling of the alley, years of grime and dirt the only witness for his demise. Cold, vision going dark around the edges the world started to fade.
He never saw Venom latch onto his arm, he just felt the ice touch of a black tendril slap against his hand followed by a burst of adrenaline rushing through him, veins on fire as he gasped.
"What the fuck was that!?" Eddie sat up right, eyes darting around.
I could ask you the same thing! The gruff familiar boom of the symbiote's voice filled his head.
"What are you even doing here?"
Getting out of the Eddie closet.
Eddie made a face, part in confusion part in annoyance.
"We don't have time for this!" Eddie tried to get to his feet but was forced back down by Venom.
'We?' I thought it was all about 'you'?
"I just found out that Cletus Kasady has escaped prison and is most likely coming for the guy who signed his death certificate!" Eddie poked himself in the chest.
So, you've come crawling back…
"I've been coughing up my own blood for the last hour, and funny enough I had a feeling it has something to do with the alien I had living up my ass until recently!" Eddie yelled as he used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe the blood from the side of his mouth. "And not to mention, I would love to know how the hell this murderer ended up with one of you inside him in the first place!" Eddie looked over to his right, getting a better look at the man in fancy dress whose head was peaking round the corner. "What?!" Eddie addressed him so eloquently.
The eavesdropper opened his mouth to speak but no words formed, the young man turned on his heals scrambling back and out of view.
You're in a chipper mood.
"Did you not hear anything of what I just said?"
There was an unusually long pause, Venom not normally one to ponder what he wants to say.
I cannot live off chocolate and mindless chickens!
Things quickly fell into place for Eddie. Like the last piece of the puzzle was pulled out from under the rug.
"So, what… You've been killing me. Again?!"
Not by choice!
Eddie slowly calmed down and went quiet. He knew Venom could tell what he was thinking, the process of his thoughts, he was sure Venom most likely knew what he was going to say before he even said it.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Eddie was still upset and angry, but he toned down his voice, the low growl instinctive of his frustration.
Would you have listened?
"If you told me I was dying, yeah. Yeah, I think I would have listened." Eddie nodded along.
Really? What have I been telling you, repeatedly for months?
Eddie stayed quiet. Nothing coming to mind immediately.
That I cannot live off chocolate and the pea brains of chickens!
Eddie went to reply, to come back with some smart comment, or to mock the alien in some way but he stopped. He instead recalled the last few weeks and the number of times they argued over food.
Eddie took a deep breath, still joyous in the feeling of unhindered lungs.
"I'm sorry."
There was an awkward pause with just the distant sound of music and cheering.
What was that? I didn't quite hear you.
Eddie rolled his eyes, the sarcasm laced in Venom's words rage inducing. Biting his tongue, keeping back a smart quip he repeated himself.
"I said… I'm sorry."
Another pause.
Say again?
"Fuck you man." Eddie got to his feet but was immediately pinned to the wall by Venom. Tendrils reaching out his back and securing him to the wall before the head of the alien formed from him, circling round to meet him face to face.
"One more time."
Venom's sharp toothed grin was more annoying then terrifying at this point. The symbiote having been a part of him for too long for him to fear simple parlour tricks.
"You wanna go fight some bad guys?" Eddie offered instead.
The smiling creature smirked even more, eyes narrowing, tongue licking its lips.
"Thought you'd never ask."
Authors Notes
Been writing this story since the movie came out. Been in the background while I've been busy with other things but I think it's finally time to start sharing it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the rest that are to come.